Morgan Stanley Raises Equitable (NYSE:EQH) Price Target to $41.00

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $39.00 to $41.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Equitable from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Equitable from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on Equitable from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Equitable from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $39.67.

Equitable Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Equitable stock opened at $36.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.51 and a 200 day moving average of $32.20. Equitable has a 52 week low of $21.89 and a 52 week high of $38.44.

Equitable (NYSE:EQH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equitable will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitable Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Equitable’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Insider Transactions at Equitable

In related news, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $361,276.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 141,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,112,086.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Mark Pearson sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total transaction of $1,087,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 685,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,825,306. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey J. Hurd sold 9,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.24, for a total value of $361,276.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 141,062 shares in the company, valued at $5,112,086.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 241,907 shares of company stock valued at $8,338,649. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitable

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EQH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Equitable by 109.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 227,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after acquiring an additional 118,874 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 35.1% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Equitable in the first quarter valued at about $216,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Equitable by 2.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 309,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,567,000 after acquiring an additional 7,745 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equitable by 6.2% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. 92.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equitable Company Profile

Equitable Holdings, Inc, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, operates as a diversified financial services company worldwide. The company operates through six segments: Individual Retirement, Group Retirement, Investment Management and Research, Protection Solutions, Wealth Management, and Legacy.